A special follow-up day to Valentine’s sees men gifting women. But what might a dip in its popularity tell us about modern Japan? For many in the West, the red-and-pink heart-filled celebrations of Valentine’s Day are already a month old. But in Japan, shops and consumers are have been gearing up for more commercialised romance, round two: a follow-up holiday… Read more »
Japan’s government has lodged a protest through diplomatic channels against Russia’s military drills on the islands of Etorofu and Kunashiri. The two islands are among the Northern Territories. Russia controls the four islands. Japan claims them. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan’s territory. It says the islands were illegally occupied after World War Two…. Read more »
South Korea’s parliament has passed emergency measures aimed at tackling serious air pollution. It comes as the country is being choked by record levels of fine dust. The government has called the current situation a “social disaster.” The emergency designation allows it to use special reserve funds to respond to the issue. This gives lawmakers access to more than 2.6… Read more »
The world’s most endangered orangutans could be pushed towards extinction after an Indonesian court approved a controversial dam project, say campaigners. The 22 trillion rupiah (£1.15bn; $1.5bn) dam will be built in North Sumatra’s Batang Toru forest. The region is home to the Tapanuli orangutans, which were only identified as a new species in 2017. Only 800 of them remain… Read more »
The Indonesian woman accused of killing Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, has been freed after charges against her were dropped. Siti Aisyah had been accused of smearing VX nerve agent on Mr Kim’s face in Kuala Lumpur airport in 2017. She and her co-accused, Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, deny murder and say they thought they were part… Read more »
Authorities in China are prosecuting 11 people for smuggling $119m (£90m) worth of fish swim bladders from Mexico. They are accused of bringing in 20,000 swim bladders from totoaba fish from the Gulf of California in Mexico and selling them in China. Swim bladders enable totoaba to maintain their buoyancy in the water. They are used in traditional medicines in… Read more »
Chinese exports saw the steepest fall in three years in February, adding to worries about growth in the world’s second largest economy. Official data show exports from China plunged 20.7% from a year earlier, as its trade war with the US took a toll. Imports fell 5.2% and the figures sent Asia stock markets sharply lower. Economists caution the data… Read more »
An internet expert says he has uncovered an open database in China that details the personal information of more than 1.8 million women, as well as something called their “BreedReady” status. Victor Gevers, a Dutch researcher with nonprofit GDI.Foundation, tweeted his findings over the weekend. According to his research, the database stored women’s names, ages and marital status, among other… Read more »
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he would prefer to take sides with China over the U.S. if his country was forced to take sides in the trade war, the South China Morning Post reported on Friday. Although the 93-year-old Malaysian leader has been a strong critic of Chinese investments in his home country, he acknowledged that China is an economic power that presents opportunities. Malaysia has to “accept that China is… Read more »
“Sesame Credit” is the PRC’s social credit system, in which people are scored based on such characteristics as their adoption of Xi Jinping Thought, their loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, their actions in support of – or against – the CCP, and the score of their friends and family. Participation in this system is coerced and widespread, integrating many… Read more »